The Promotion

by Justin
(Lexington, KY)

About three years ago I was stuck in a rut at work. I knew that I was capable of handling more responsibility than what I had and wanted a promotion. The only problem was that, at the time, we were in the middle of the recession and my company was not promoting anyone to fill vacancies due to budget shortfalls. I knew this would not last and, eventually, things would turn around. In the meantime, I developed a clear vision of what I wanted to eventually accomplish – I wanted to be a supervisor at my job. I did not know how or when it was going to happen, since I could not predict when the economy would turn around, but I told myself that if I worked hard, performed accurate work, went out of my way to help others, and displayed confidence in my abilities, then I would eventually be rewarded for my efforts.

Two years later things started to turn around at work and the company eventually decided to start creating new teams and hiring supervisors. I immediately applied for one of the positions. “This is exactly what I have been waiting for,” I told myself.

When the interviews were scheduled I felt confident that my time had come, since I had been mentally preparing myself for so long. During the week leading up to the interview, each night I would take about half an hour and visualize the interview process. I would take deep breaths to calm myself down, picture the interviewers, and answer sample questions to myself. I did not know exactly how the interviews would be structured, but I knew that I wanted this position badly, and the only way to get it was to channel that my desire into a positive performance in the interview.

During the interview I interacted well with the panel, recounted my accomplishments at work over the last few years, and confidently explained how I would handle each of the scenarios that they presented me with. I felt like things went very well.

About a month later, after all of the interviews were conducted, I received a call notifying me that I had been selected for one of the supervisor positions. I was, obviously, thrilled with the news. Even though the competition was very stiff, I went in believing that this was my destiny and, sure enough, the job I wanted came to me.